A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from an AACSB accredited institution in the United States will provide you an excellent education and add prestige to your career credentials. MBA students work in team environments, learn critical and analytical thinking skills, creative problem solving techniques and develop strong strategic business theory while applying it in simulated and real business situations.

Each university and college in the United States has different requirements for gaining admission to their MBA programs and may have different emphases on a particular business discipline so it is important that you review each program in detail before making your final decision. There are also several different types of MBA programs available.

Before you evaluate different programs, you will want to understand the different types of MBAs and their structures; thereby choosing the one that best suits your needs as it relates to your career development, scheduling requirements, and cost considerations. A brief outline of the different types of MBA programs is offered below.

Full-time MBA

The full-time MBA is traditionally an on-campus day-based program offered in a schedule similar to undergraduate degrees. The program duration may be 18 months to 36 months in duration depending in the number of credits and the options for electives or areas of specialty. Also, full-time MBAs may offer or require internships which could add to the overall duration of the program.

An MBA program by definition spans the five disciplines of business to include accounting, finance, marketing, management and some area of technology from computer information systems, data management, or information management. Some full-time programs offer a wide variety of electives. Many graduate institutions offer comprehensive MBA programs without electives or areas of specialty; these programs are often aimed at individuals who do not have business undergraduate degrees. The full-time MBA is less popular than the part-time MBA programs because of the constraints on the working professional to be absent from their work environment during the day to attend classes.

Part-Time MBA

Part-time MBA programs are very popular because of the flexibility they offer to the working professional; classes may be held in the evening, on weekends or during shorter stints during the day before work hours or over lunch hours. These programs may also be completed in as little as 20 to 24 months or may be offered over a period of 3 to 5 years.

Executive MBA

The executive MBA is generally designed for managers and emerging leaders of a company with, generally, 5 or more years of full time professional experience. Executive MBA program curriculums may range from the very specific being tailored to their student population or comprehensive in nature; the programs tend to be more strategic and policy directed than a more tactical approach found in the other MBA programs and the classes are generally kept very small to encourage the board of advisors atmosphere for more spirited discussions. The executive program may be offered in either a full-time or part-time format with a duration of 12 to 24 months. The scheduling of these program vary greatly from daily attendance to evenings to weekends to monthly three-day weekends or some other combination that fits the targeted student population. Executive MBA programs tend to have an aire of prestigious associated with them; possibly, because of the professional experience level of the participants and the level of strategic thinking that is incorporated into the curriculum.

International MBA

There may be different interpretations of what constitutes an International MBA Program; however, generally speaking, an International MBA Program is one that is not only focused on international and global business practices but also endeavors to bring in a wide cross-section of nationalities within its student population and/or is administered in two or more locations in the world during the course of the program. The International MBA may also be marketed as a Joint MBA where two institutions are involved in two different countries but a common degree is conferred. You will want to check with schools that interest you to see how they describe their International/Joint MBA.

Dual MBA

Dual MBA programs will bring two different disciplines together in a combined program; institutions offer programs with dual degrees, such as MBA/DVM, MBA/JD, MBA/PhD, and others. These dual or combined degrees are very specialized with few offered throughout the country.